GOBI ordering (electronic)

Scope: Introduction to ordering single ebooks on through GOBI.
Contact: Sara Biondi
Unit: Monograph Acquisitions
Date last reviewed: Jan 14, 2026 
Date of next review: Jun 30, 2026 

To Search for Selections:
In GOBI, choose Search > choose Selections

Choose selector initials, then click Search

The selection list will appear (in Options—My Preferences make sure "Full" is chosen as the default display)
Reviewing and Editing Selections:

1. Review the information the Selector has provided. If you need to make any changes, you can click Enter Order Details button above the list of selections.

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GOBI screenshot - Enter Order Details button highlighted in yellow

1. Check for duplicates. (Note: when unable to determine if an ebook is held, or when you find conflicting records, contact the ERSA staff member in charge of ebooks for assistance.)

   1. All e-books are NON-RETURN/NON-CANCEL YBP, which means that once placed, we cannot usually cancel the order. Identifying duplication before ordering is vital. (NOTE: If a duplicate is unintentionally placed, contact our YBP rep immediately, see post-purchase notes below.)

   2. Search in Alma by ISBN, eISBN (may differ by provider) and browse by title (helps avoid exact spelling false negatives). 

   3. Search in the library catalog by ISBN and title. 

   4. Search by title in the eJournal Portal, set to Books only. (The eJournal Portal will reflect ebook packages within 24 hours of purchase, while the general library catalog can take more than a week.)

      1. Open

         

         eJournal portal screenshot

      2. Note that a banner saying "Access brought to you by Duke University Libraries" on a provider website does not indicate that we have access to the content on that page, just that the page has recognized our IP address as being at Duke. If you are concerned we have access not listed in the eJournal Portal, contact the relevant ERSA staff.

   5. For titles that are numbered monographic series or sets, search in Aleph to confirm that the title will not come on standing order. Also check titles that appear to be serial titles (travel guides, for example).

   6. Look at the GOBI information to see if the title has already shipped or will ship. Look at the right side of the GOBI record for the following (or other similar statements), but remember that GOBI may not reflect ebook package purchases: 

   7. Check for approval status – until "Handled on approval" with a date in the past appears, there is a chance it will be selected as part of our approval plans. Different ebook licenses may be handled on approval, so look carefully at the alternative platforms.

      1. Open

         

         GOBI screenshot - Handled On Approval YBP with date

          

      2. From GOBI's webpage, the approval statuses & their meanings:

         1. "Due on approval (mmddyyyy)."
            We have not yet received the book in our warehouse and it has not yet been profiled. Most often this will apply to forthcoming titles.

            "Preparing to profile."
            The book has just been received and will be profiled.

            "Approval profiling in process."
            Book-in-hand profiling is underway.

            "Handled on approval (mmddyyyy)."
            The profiling process is complete.

   8. Confirm that the license is available in the US and to Duke

      1. Open

         

         GOBI screenshot - license availability for particular title

2. If you identify a duplicate, you will deselect the title from the cart (you may wish to consult with the selecting librarian about duplication preferences, in case it is an intentional duplicate):

   1. Click on the record so the blue bar appears at the left.

   2. Choose Deselect from menu at the left-hand side of the screen.

   3. Hit OK when the pop-up window appears.

3. If there is no duplication (or if the duplication is intentional) proceed with purchase

4. Click on the selection bar on the left to highlight the title

5. Click on the GobiExpress button

   Open

   

   GOBI screenshot - GobiExpress button

6. Use subaccount 1370-50 US EBOOK SLCL

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GOBI screenshot - subaccount selection drop-down menu

Rush e-book purchasing
Rush requested e-book purchases are processed as above, with the following notes:

• Rush e-books should have patron information attached or provided by the librarian by email (we do not "rush to stacks")

• Do not order as a rush order, rush e-books are ordered normally

• In the notes field, make sure patron information as provided by librarian is included.

  • But we do not create a hold in Aleph or add an initiator ID, as there is no item record

• When you receive the confirmation of purchase, forward it to the ERSA staff member handling rush e-books. (See similar workflow for e-books ordered for reserves)

Post-purchase
After the GOBI orders are loaded the following day, if you receive a bounce notice for your e-book purchase, you must create the order manually. (You will receive a bounce notice by email if the title matches an ISBN already present in Aleph.)

• Find an e-book record for the title on OCLC (do not use an existing record in Aleph from OverDrive!), export it to Aleph, and create an order

  • Use budget from GOBI order

  • Use appropriate vendor (PYANKEE BOOKS, usually)

  • Encumber for price listed in GOBI

  • Material Type = EB

  • Note platform/license information in Library Note field

  • Do NOT create an item when you create the order (or delete it if you create one by accident)

If you receive a bounce notice, and your order was an unintentional duplicate, contact our current GOBI rep immediately. Sometimes they are able to request a credit from the publisher of the title, and can credit that money back to us. In those cases, either the credit will be applied to pay down the invoice for the unintentional order, or we will process a credit memo against another GOBI invoice. But this can only happen when we are extremely prompt with the request, so don't delay if you find you have made an ebook purchase in error.

Notes
Different e-book supplies have different turnaround times for their active links. Typically World Scientific and Taylor & Francis can take up to 1-2 weeks for the active link to become available in Serials Solutions, while ProQuest and Ebscohost can be as soon as 24-48 hours. If this is a particularly urgent rush request, you may wish to communicate this with the requesting librarian.